Mazda developing affordable carbon-fibre for MX-5

Mazda has announced that it is developing a new "affordable" way of manufacturing carbon-fibre that will see weight slashed from the next-generation MX-5.

Making the revelation in an interview with Autocar, MX-5 project director Nobuhiro Yamamoto confirmed the lightweight material will allow the Japanese car-maker to introduce downsized, petrol three-cylinder engines.

“It’s a simple concept,” he told the British car-magazine. “The vehicle weight gets lower, there’s a smaller engine, smaller tyres. It’s a lightweight sports car.”

The less powerful and more efficient engines could mean both the current 96kW 1.5-litre and more powerful 118kW 2.0-litre four-cylinder engines face the chop.

Yamamoto says the lightweight carbon-fibre structure, already in development, should be ready for the all-new fifth-generation version of the roadster that arrives around 2021.

Currently, the heaviest MX-5 (the forthcoming MX-5 Retractable Fastback on sale in 2017) weighs in at around 1009kg. With the lighter carbon-fibre body, and possibly underpinnings too, the little sportscar could tip the scales at less than 800kg once the small, featherweight motor has been accounted for.

It's not known if other models -- such as a born-again rotary sports car -- will benefit from the cheap new carbon-fibre construction method, but it is likely as the car-maker finds itself increasingly under pressure to slash emissions without plug-in hybrid tech available in the range.

What Mazda isn't prepared to do is downsize the size of the current MX-5, says Yamamoto, claiming the "size is right" when asked if the replacement for the 'ND' model could shrink.

Sadly, for fans of the Speedster and Spyder concepts shown at last year's SEMA tuning show (pictured), Yamamoto told Autocar that both models had been ruled out, claiming they were "not feasible" for production.

“We have dreams, our customers have dreams,” he said. “An open car is very emotional, and you have a good feeling driving this. But it’s not feasible and is a very difficult car [to make]. It’s a dream car," he told the British car mag.